Have INXS, one of Australia’s best known rock bands, sold out to the reality TV phenomena? In 1997 the band’s lead singer, Michael Hutchence, committed suicide. It was not until 2005 that they tried to permanently fill the position by hosting a reality TV show whereby 15 singers competed for the position of lead vocalist.
In an interview, Tim Farris states, “We figured our old fans would be pissed off, but, in the end, we finally had great rock and roll on the television, and someone had to come along and knock that American Idol crap out of the way. That show is destroying music” (2006, Molenda).
Is their show, Rock Star – INXS, any different to American Idol? (The fact that they are talking of American Idol and their show was an American reality TV series is further salt in the wound for long time Australian fans). INXS are a legitimate band searching for a lead singer whereas Idol is attempting to create a solo career, but the process of finding this “star” is much the same. Irrespective of their personal ambitions, they perform, are judged and are chosen because they fit into a preconceived notion of what a star should be. J.D. Fortune was chosen because of his likeness to the late Michael Hutchence – he “fitted into [the] recognizable framework of [a] rock star” (Pattie, 1999), as opposed to writing his own music and doing tough on the pub scene for years before being ‘discovered’.
To make matters worse, the resulting album, Switch, was not simply about the music. As Molena (2006) states regarding their latest album, “The dead line urgency is “condition red” because the band is seeking to exploit the anticipation fanned by its primetime television search for a new vocalist on summer ’05 reality show, Rock star: INXS”. The album was produced in a hurry in order to cash in on their newfound TV fame. Is this what producing rock music is about?
References
Molenda, Michael 2006, ‘INXS Band of Brothers’, Guitar Player, vol. 40, no. 1, Jan 2006, ProQuest Direct Complete, pp. 74-76, 80, 80-85
Pattie, David 1999, ‘4 Real: Authenticity, Performance, and Rock Music’, Enculturation, vol. 2, no. 2, spring 1999 http://enculturation.gmu.edu/2_2/pattie.html
In an interview, Tim Farris states, “We figured our old fans would be pissed off, but, in the end, we finally had great rock and roll on the television, and someone had to come along and knock that American Idol crap out of the way. That show is destroying music” (2006, Molenda).
Is their show, Rock Star – INXS, any different to American Idol? (The fact that they are talking of American Idol and their show was an American reality TV series is further salt in the wound for long time Australian fans). INXS are a legitimate band searching for a lead singer whereas Idol is attempting to create a solo career, but the process of finding this “star” is much the same. Irrespective of their personal ambitions, they perform, are judged and are chosen because they fit into a preconceived notion of what a star should be. J.D. Fortune was chosen because of his likeness to the late Michael Hutchence – he “fitted into [the] recognizable framework of [a] rock star” (Pattie, 1999), as opposed to writing his own music and doing tough on the pub scene for years before being ‘discovered’.
To make matters worse, the resulting album, Switch, was not simply about the music. As Molena (2006) states regarding their latest album, “The dead line urgency is “condition red” because the band is seeking to exploit the anticipation fanned by its primetime television search for a new vocalist on summer ’05 reality show, Rock star: INXS”. The album was produced in a hurry in order to cash in on their newfound TV fame. Is this what producing rock music is about?
References
Molenda, Michael 2006, ‘INXS Band of Brothers’, Guitar Player, vol. 40, no. 1, Jan 2006, ProQuest Direct Complete, pp. 74-76, 80, 80-85
Pattie, David 1999, ‘4 Real: Authenticity, Performance, and Rock Music’, Enculturation, vol. 2, no. 2, spring 1999 http://enculturation.gmu.edu/2_2/pattie.html
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